Wick and process for making same



y 2, 1929- B. MULLER-THYM 1.719.679

WICK AND PROCESS FOR MAKING SAME Filed Aug 4, 1924 INVENTOR PatentedJuly 2, 1929.

BERNARD MULLER-THYM,- OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI. Y

.WICK AND PROCESS FOR MAKING SAME.

Application filed August 4, 1924. Serial No. 730,128.

This invention relates to non-combustible wicks and my object is toproduce a wick of this character made of asbestos having a relativelylarge number of fairsized capillary tubes, and primarily intended foruse in a relatively open vessel the wick being supported at its oppositeends respectively above the surface of the oil and in close proximity tothe bottom of the vessel. The wick is ignited at the surface of the oiland the flame travels down the wick in accordance, with the lowering ofthe oil level. It will be obvious from this general statement ofoperation that the wick must be of a noncombustible nature.

It is also to be pointed out in connection with this invention that thewick is intended primarily for use with strictly vegetable oils whichrequire a high temperature to gasify and break down the constituentparts. This being true it is found that the oil is not gasified a littlebelow the flame as is true with most mineral "oils, but must attain andenter the flame before gasification place. Forthis reason the wick musthave a greater capillary attractive power than the ordinary type of wickorder that it may elevate a fair degree of oil entirely out of contactwith the comparatively cool surface of the body of oil in the vessel inorder that such oil may be heated sufficiently to gasify. Another reasonfor producing a wick having a relatively large number of capillary tubesor attractive power, lies in the fact that vegetable oil when burnedleaves a crust or coating. If the tubes are fairly large and numerousthe crust or coat ing deposited by the burned oil will be consumed bythe white part of the flame as the oil level descends, and the wick willbe left free and ready for further use.

Heretofore, the use of asbestos for wicks of this type has provedobjectionable due to the fact that asbestos fibers are solid memr bersand no tubes or passageways are pro-- vided through which the oil may beelevated by capillary attraction, especially when the wick is spunfairly tightly. hen an as-.

bestos wick is spun loosely to, provide passages or interstices for theelevation of the oil, it is found that the operation of the wick isunsatisfactory due to the fact that the spacing or arrangement of thepassages is uneven, at times a large quantity of oil being fed to theflame and at other times the flame being practically extinguishedbecause of the lack of oil. Y

My prime object, therefore, is to produce an asbestos wick which isprovided with a uniformity of passageways leading to a proper andregular elevation of oil throughout the entire length of the wick.

In the drawing the wick is illustrated as partially untwisted to showthe strands.

It would appear feasible to loosely spin a wick out of asbestos alone,as above mentioned, that would. be uniform through its length, but afterexperimentation I have found that this method will not produce acommercial product as the pure asbestos wick so produced is extremelyfragile and cannot be safely shipped,.and that it has a still greaterobjection in that it cannot be handled by the consumeras the slightestpressure will compact the fiber and entirely close or collapse thepassages. thatwhen the passages are closed as mentioned, theusefulnessof the entire wick is destroyed. '7 i Y In carrying out the invention Ihave found in order to provide an asbestos wick having interstices orpassages for the elevation of the oil, and ORGW'hICll, moreover, can besafely handled the consumer without, danger of permanently closingorcompact ing-the =w1ckaga1nst the elevation of oil,

that it is necessary to insert intothe wick at the time of formation acore or a plurality of twisted strands of any suitable absorbentcombustible material, such as cotton.

When the asbestos is combined with the cotton or other combustiblematerial in a uniform manner throughout its entire length, the wick canbe safely compressed, as regardless of the degree of compression theabsorbent material will readjust itself by expansion when moistened byimmersion in oil and will always offer a path for such oil.

The operator after installing a combination wick of the charactermentioned in his lamp or burner, will dip the entire wick in the oil andthen will withdraw same therefrom and ignite the wick. The burning ofthe wick at this time leads to the entire consumption of the combustiblematerial. It will be obvious after the combustible material is burnedfrom the wick, that the as bestos will be left in a uniform conditionthroughout its entire length with a series It will be apparent of smallcapillary tubes or passages for the attraction of the oil. It will alsobe apparent as the wick has been installed in position in the lamp orburner, that further handling of the wick which might lead to theclosure of the passages is obviated, and the wick is ready for service.The wick as thus produced is more or less fragile but it has been foundthat it may be used many times without attention, and is, therefore,much more desirable than the common and ordinary type of combustiblewick necessitating frequent replacement after its'burning.

In carrying out the invention it has been found preferable to producethreads 1 composed in the ratio of 1:1 of cotton and asbestos fibers.Two or more of the threads are twisted together to form a strand 2 andtwo or more strands are spun to produce the final and completed wick 3.With a wick produced in accordance with the method described, the 1:1proportion of cotton and asbestos fibers will be absolutely maintainedthroughout the wick both externally and internally, and it will beevident when the cotton is consumed as above described that a largenumber of tubes or passageways will be left through the entire body ofthe wick offering numerous interstices for the attraction of the oil. Inorder to absolutely insure the consumption of all of the cotton in thewick, it may be desirable at times to impregnate the wick by dipping itin a solution of saltpeter. The saltpeter by the release of hydrogenwhen the wick is first ignited will insure the burning of the cotton.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have a wick andprocess of producing same which possesses the features of advantage setforth as desirable, and

while I have described and claimed the preferred embodiment ofthe same,I reserve the right to make all changes properly falling within thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim: 7

l. The process of making non-combustible wicks, consisting inintertwining fibers of combustible and of noncombustible substances, andthen eliminating the combustible fibers to leave a canal or passage inthe noncombustible fibers.

2. The process of making non-combus tible wicks, consisting inintertwining fibers of combustible and of non-combustible substances,and then burning the fibers of combustible substance to leave a canal orpassage in the noncombustible fibers.

3. The process of making asbestos wicks, consisting in intertwiningfibers of cotton and of asbestos, and then dipping the wick in oil andfinally in igniting the wick 'to effect the consumption of the cottonfibers.

4:. A wick in the shape of a. twisted cord, comprising a plurality oftwisted strands, each strand; comprising non-combustible and combustiblematerials, the form of the completed wick being such that thecombustible material will be consumed upon ignition of the wick.

5. A wick comprising fibers of combustible and non-combustible materialsso combined that upon ignition of the wick the combustible material willbe consumed, the channels produced by such consumption establishing acapillary feed for the non combustible material.

In witness whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

BERNARD MULLER-THYM.

